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On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed their names to the United States Constitution. In doing so, they laid the framework on which we have built our nation.

What is Medicare Part D? Medicare Part D is an addition to Medicare that helps seniors with the cost of their prescription drugs. Medicare Part A (hospitalization) and Medicare Part B (visits to the doctor) are both government run. However Medicare Part D is run by private insurance companies. Many companies offer different plans and it is up to each person to find the plan that offers the best coverage for their particular medical needs.

This is one of those awkward moments when your heroic Bulletin columnists can’t write about the election’s conclusions because we don’t know it yet!
Therefore, Id’ been thinking about issues that would have to be grappled with by either person who won the November 6 election.
I’ve settled upon four matters I believe rank as the most important. Some of these weren’t even considered important issues in the election just concluded.

At a time when we are desperately in need of policies that will get our country back on track and put us on the road to fiscal sustainability, we are facing a dangerous time in our nation’s history as the so-called “fiscal cliff” quickly approaches at the year’s end.

While the national unemployment rate has improved slightly, millions of Americans continue to struggle to find work and millions more are underemployed, forced to accept part time employment because they have been unable to find full time work. Two-thirds of the jobs added last month were only part-time and the amount of jobs added in September is still 36,000 short of what our economy needs to just keep pace with people entering the workforce for the first time.

Growing up in Bedford County, I remember many positive and pleasant experiences. I also remember the vicious racism of the great majority of white people around me.
I didn’t know who Martin Luther King Jr. was; but I knew that every white person who talked about him hated him. I can proudly say, though, that my own parents were not among those people.

Dating back to the founding of our nation, Virginians and Americans have set forth the principle that this country was founded of the people, by the people, for the people. And as history shows, we have long been a nation dependent on its people and not its federal government for our success. But lately those we have elected to represent us in Washington have been taking us in a different direction.

Many Americans continue to struggle with unemployment and an increased cost of living due in large part to our sluggish economy. They are looking to Washington to advance policies that tear down the barriers to job creation and get our nation back on the right track.

After receiving numerous complaints of trash on the sides of the roads from residents in many areas of the county, Board of Supervisor member Bill Thomasson and I researched the legalities of possibly utilizing inmates for community service.